Compassionate Conservation
With a guiding principle of ‘first do no harm’, Compassionate Conservation is an ethos that takes the value of the individual sentient animal, each with its own desires and needs and a capacity to suffer, into strong account in conservation practice.
Wild animals face an increasing number of threats. Not only does this put species and ecosystems in jeopardy, it has a large impact on the lives of individual animals and their social groups. Many animals are harmed (through suffering and killing) to serve human interests and values without due consideration of other animals’ interests and intrinsic value.
Traditional conservation efforts in setting aside protected areas are insufficient to preserve nature on their own. Finding ways to compassionately and practically share space (coexistence), via trade-offs among different values, is vital if we are to reduce harm to animals.
A simple and morally acceptable approach is to utilise the universal ethic of compassion (and empathy) to alleviate suffering in humans and other animals to resolve issues of land sharing. A compassionate and practical ethic for conservation that focuses on individual well-being, in combination with other values, provides a novel framework of transparency and robust decision-making for conservation that will benefit all stakeholders.
Compassionate conservation stipulates that we need a conservation ethic that prioritises the protection of other animals as individuals: not just as members of populations of species, but valued in their own right. This is important because of what we now know about their cognitive and emotional lives (consciousness and sentience).
Wild animals face an increasing number of threats. Not only does this put species and ecosystems in jeopardy, it has a large impact on the lives of individual animals and their social groups. Many animals are harmed (through suffering and killing) to serve human interests and values without due consideration of other animals’ interests and intrinsic value.
Traditional conservation efforts in setting aside protected areas are insufficient to preserve nature on their own. Finding ways to compassionately and practically share space (coexistence), via trade-offs among different values, is vital if we are to reduce harm to animals.
A simple and morally acceptable approach is to utilise the universal ethic of compassion (and empathy) to alleviate suffering in humans and other animals to resolve issues of land sharing. A compassionate and practical ethic for conservation that focuses on individual well-being, in combination with other values, provides a novel framework of transparency and robust decision-making for conservation that will benefit all stakeholders.
Compassionate conservation stipulates that we need a conservation ethic that prioritises the protection of other animals as individuals: not just as members of populations of species, but valued in their own right. This is important because of what we now know about their cognitive and emotional lives (consciousness and sentience).
Compassionate conservation is concerned with the humane treatment and welfare of individual animals within the framework of traditional conservation biology in which the focus is on species, populations, or ecosystems. Often there is polarization between those interested in animal protection and those interested in conservation. It is all too easy to trump individual animal welfare for the widely shared goal of preserving biodiversity. Compassion for animals should be fundamental for conservation because poor conservation outcomes are often consistent with the mistreatment of animals. ~ Marc Bekoff, Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder |
Carnivore Re-Wilding
Did you know that animals have 'secret super powers'?
Rewilding is large-scale conservation aimed at restoring and protecting natural processes and core wilderness areas, providing connectivity between such areas, and protecting or reintroducing apex predators and keystone species. Rewilding projects may require ecological restoration or wilderness engineering, particularly to restore connectivity between fragmented protected areas, and reintroduction of predators where extirpated. |
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For more from George Monbiot, visit
www.monbiot.com/ and for more on "rewilding" visit http://bit.ly/1hKGemK and/or check out George Monbiot's book Feral: rewilding the land, the sea and human life: http://amzn.to/1fjgirx |
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